Week 53 - December 29-31, 2024: The Rest of the Story

Week 53 – December 29-31, 2024

This week’s daily readings:

December 29-31, 2024

This week’s devotional:

The Rest of the Story

by Sue Hersey

Scripture:

And he [the risen Christ] said to them [the two disciples on the road to Emmaus], “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

— Luke 24:25-27 (ESV) 

Reflection:

I remember years ago there was a radio commentator named Paul Harvey. His career lasted decades, as he was popular for his folksy humor and engaging style. I loved to hear him weave intriguing tales about some famous person or event of interest, keeping their identity a mystery until the very end when he always used the phrase, “and now you know the rest of the story!”

In many ways, that is just what the Bible does with the story of Jesus. In John 1:2, we are assured that, “He was in the beginning with God,” before and during creation, so even the Old Testament accounts include Jesus and, in many places, point directly to him as the Savior God had promised. If you’ve been faithful with our daily reading plan all year, then you’re familiar with some of those Scriptures that predate the coming of Christ, including the history, God’s law, and the wisdom and emotion of the poetry sections. All through those chapters Jesus is hinted at, foreshadowed, and alluded to. It’s not a coincidence that the prophets and many of the psalms make explicit predictions about the coming Messiah and the suffering he must go through before entering into his glory. 

Obviously, all this did not occur to the disciples travelling to Emmaus. They and all the followers of Jesus had their hopes dashed at Jesus’ crucifixion, believing that their chance for redemption ended at his death. Our faith can sometimes fail us at the oddest of times. These verses accuse us all of having hearts that are foolishly too slow to believe. These people were willing to believe that Jesus really was the Messiah foretold to save the world but could not grasp that he needed to die and return from the dead to do it! 

Thankfully, Jesus was in on God’s plan from the beginning – the intentional, divine purpose for his life, ministry, death, and resurrection. He also knows the entire Scripture inside and out and all the ways that it really is about him, so he was able to unravel the mystery for his disciples. What an amazing experience that must have been for them: to be in a Bible study with Christ, himself, as teacher! Surely then they knew “the rest of the story!”

Prayer:

Dear God, we’ve learned so much about you, Jesus, and your great love for us in our Bible readings throughout the year. For that we are truly grateful! Help us to understand all that you have planned and done for us in the life and death of your Son, and how we should respond to that amazing sacrifice. Make it known to us every day that he lives again, forever at your side, sharing his wisdom and eternal life with us, his disciples. And be with us in our own Bible studies, speaking to us through your word. Amen.